Greetings all. I have acquired a Denon DP-72L and Denon HA-500 phono preamp that have great sentimental value. I was there the days these were bought new and enjoyed them in my friends system until his passing this year.Both pieces are in near perfect condition. The TT has the straight and curved arms, additional counterweights that were included in the original kit. My expertise with analog dosent extend far beyond spinning and enjoying.My questions revolve around getting the most out of this vintage set-up. • Cartrige to install• Arm to mount and if the curved, Head-shell to purchase.• Mat upgrade. • Wire upgrade. • Capacitor upgrade. I am willing to invest more than the minimum within reason. This TT will remain with me.Thank you in advance for any experience you may provide. My modest system includes:• Dehavilland IOS integrated. • Wadia 860x. • Nola Viper Signature, these are the older model that use Alnico magnets with external Xovers.• Golden Cross IC and speaker wire. • Kimber Timbre phono IC. I listen to mainly Prog.

What is phono gain of your phono stage? I am guessing it is suitable for mm/mi cartridge (high output) but not for low output cartridges (less than 1mV). So choose a cartridge based on that. Most mm or mi cartridges are high compliance. So choose the straight arm wand which is likely to be lower mass. Likewise, choose a low mass headshell (less than 10gms). Happen to like the boston audio mat1, to replace the rubber denon mat, or the mat2. If the tt was in regular use and is working perfectly, you can probably leave the capacitors alone for now. That's my 2 cents.

LewmThe HA-500 has gain stages of 0dB, 24dB, 32dB. I also have a Clearaudio smart phono GmbH with gains of 35dB & 54dB. A Denon DL-103 was mounted when I received the table but the cantilever was bent badly. I mounted a heavily used Ortofon Super OM 30 from the closet to check things out. The TT was always in semi-regular use and dose function well.